Helene: After Effects of a Paris Love Affair
by anarkali-anjali
Summary: Jenny may have left Gibbs in Paris, but Paris never quite finished. Unknown to her, Jenny was pregnant. Now for the first time in six years, Jenny comes face to face with the father of her daughter and is torn between what is right for her daughter and her own emotions.
1. Prologue

A/N: I know everyone has done this before, but I wanted to write my own.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything as you already know.

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_London 1999_

It had been four months since she had left her post in Paris and transferred to London. Here she was in charge of her own team, but today all of that went on hold. In her hand was a pregnancy that read positive and there was nothing she could do about it. She thought of an abortion, but found herself unable to bring herself to go through with it. So here she was 10 in the evening waiting for 1:00 to come around, so she could call the father and tell him.

Paris had seemed to be almost a lifetime ago. She had even begun to forget about Jethro, albeit it extremely minor, when two week ago she had begun throwing up. She went into the doctors after much cajoling from her team members, till one of them threatened to tell Carol Thatcher of her illness. The last thing Jenny need was some snooty busybody who had nothing better to do then pry into other people's lives rather than do her own work. So she swallowed her pride and walked into a doctor's office early last week on her way home from work. The results came in this morning; Jenny couldn't believe it. She had taken the rest of the day off and drove to an abortion clinic and waited 2 hours in line only not go through with it.

Jenny took a deep breath and dialed the phone number. Each time the phone rang, her heart rate doubled.

"Hello," a woman picked up. Jenny's heart sank.

"Hello," Jenny responded, "Is Gibbs there?"

"No he isn't. May take a message?" the woman asked.

"No it's okay. It's not important." Jenny responded. "Thank you. Good-bye."

Jenny put down the phone and took a deep breath. She picked up the phone and dialed another number.

"Hello," came an accented voice.

"Hi Ducky," Jenny responded.

"Jennifer, how are you?" Ducky responded happily.

"I…," the words died on her lips. "I'm okay I guess," she attempted again. It didn't matter; her hesitation costed her any attempt at discretion she might've wanted to keep.

"Jennifer, what ever is the matter?" Ducky asked.

"Paris happened Ducky." Jennifer said on the verge of tears. The other line was silent. "Is he happy with her?"

"You know about Stephanie?" Ducky asked surprised.

"I called his house before I called you," Jenny explained.

"I see," Ducky replied. "It has been four months, Jennifer, you didn't expect him to wait around, did you? Even if he did marry a woman within three months of knowing her."

"That wasn't the reason I called, Ducky. The call wasn't supposed to be a friendly reconnection." Jenny explained.

"Then why stir old wounds?" Ducky asked.

"I'm pregnant, Ducky, four months." Jenny said. The words falling from her lips before she even had a chance to stop herself.

"Oh dear," Ducky replied.

"You cannot tell him, Ducky," Jenny told him quickly.

"I can't possibly keep this from him either," Ducky protested.

"Promise me, Ducky," Jenny told him, "I'll send you rhubarb crumble from London every week till I'm transferred."

"As enticing as that is, Jennifer. You can't bargain with me on this. What is your reasoning for not telling him? Doesn't he have a right to know?"

"My first priority, now, is this child. He's had two wives before this one and no children. What guarantee do I have that he won't walk out on this child?"

"Jethro would never do that Jennifer and you know that." Ducky replied.

Jenny did know that, "I'm not going to be the one that breaks that marriage. If he's happy that's all I can really ask for."

"I have to encourage you to tell him."

"I know, Ducky, but it's better this way. Trust me."

"Good luck, Jennifer. I'll call in a few months time to check up on you."

"Thank you Ducky." Jenny put down the phone and ran her hand down her face.

She walked over to the window of her apartment and looked out at London considering her options. She could either raise the child or give it up for adoption. She thought about her five-point plan. Unable to come with a solution, she decided to go to bed knowing that the answer would arise within the next five months.

Five months later, on September 16th Helene Apolline Shepard was born. Jenny took one look at her daughter and knew she would not be able to give her up. She would just incorporate her into her five-point plan. Jenny knew she was going to make it and she would be able to share it with Helene. She looked down at her daughter and smiled. She was going to give Helene everything she could and she knew it.

The nurse walked in through the doorway, "Miss Shepard, you seemed to have missed putting in the father's name."

Jenny looked up, "I can't leave it blank?"

"No. I'm afraid not." The nurse replied.

Jenny looked back at her daughter, "Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Strong name," the nurse commented as she walked out the door.

"What am I going to tell you when that talk comes around?" Jenny whispered to herself.

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	2. Settling In

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update this one. I was thinking about which direction I wanted to go in and what I've decided is that I'm sticking loosely to the NCIS episodes, but I'm going to exclude La Grenouille, Hollis Mann, Jenny's sickness, and give an alternate ending to Judgement Day. Thank you for being patient with me.

Disclaimer: I'm obviously not in the television industry because then you would have seen this on television and not be reading it on here. So hence, I do not own the characters of NCIS.

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_Washington D.C. 2005_

Jenny sat in MTAC waiting for when Morrow introduced her to Gibbs as Director. She sipped her coffee as she heard Gibbs walk in and sit down next to Morrow. It took all her might not to look back, but she waited for her cue.

"He's your problem now, Director," Morrow said leaving MTAC.

"Hello Jethro," she said as she turned to face him. She wanted to smile that she had rendered him momentarily speechless, but she kept her façade. "Should we skip the you haven't changed a bit part?"

"Why start lying to each other now, Jen." He said getting up.

"Will you have a problem taking orders from me?" She asked.

"As a boss or as a woman?" Jethro asked.

"Both." She bit out.

Gibbs shook his head and said, "No." Relief filled Jen, "You were a damn good agent, especially undercover." He told her and then left the room.

_"Not that careful, though,"_ she thought to herself as an image of Helene flashed before her eyes.

She spent the rest of the day at odds with Gibbs about Ari Haswari. Tired she took the elevator to the parking garage to go home to Helene. The elevator stopped two floors down and Ducky got on.

"Jennifer, or should I say Director, congratulations on the appointment. How is Helene doing? I assume she's adjusting well. She's so much like yourself."

"Ducky," she smiled, "Thank you. Helene is good. Just turned 6 two weeks ago. She's beginning to love D.C. You'll have to come over and see her."

"Good to hear. I will. I assume you've seen Jethro already." Ducky continued.

Jenny sighed, "Yes, I have it's been quite a day."

Ducky chuckled, "I assure you're readjust period will be short. You already know him well enough." He then turned solemn, "May I ask if you've told him?"

"No Ducky, I haven't," Jenny said softly. "After this Ari issue is cleared, I'll figure out a way to tell him. I just need time."

"You've had six years, Jennifer. Honestly how much more time do you need?" Jenny was spared an answer as the elevator reached the parking garage. The doors opened and Ducky bid her a good night.

Putting Ducky's words away she drove home to her daughter. She opened the door and called, "Helene, I'm home."

A girl with long curly red hair came spiraling down the staircase and ran straight into her mother's arms. "Hi mommy," she said excitedly.

"Have you eaten? I'm starved." Jenny said.

"No, I was waiting for you." She said musically.

"Okay let's go then." Jenny said. "Thank you for watching her Naomi."

Naomi smiled as she locked the door behind her, "She was no trouble, Senorita."

Jenny and Helene walked into the kitchen and warmed up what Naomi had made.

"So what did you do today?" Helene asked inquisitively. Jenny could help but noticed the gleam in her eye that reminded her so much of Jethro.

"Just get settled in. We're chasing a bad guy." Jenny replied placing the pasta in plates.

"Did you catch him?" Helene asked twirling the pasta.

"Not yet, but don't worry we will." Jenny said sticking her own fork into her food, "How did you like school? Did you make any friends?"

They had just got here less than a week ago and yesterday had been Helene's first day at school.

"School was good. I played on the swings with this girl named Kelsey. It was fun."

They continued talking during their dinner, and when they began to clean up Helene asked innocently, "Mommy did you see dad today?"

Jenny closed her eyes and then turned to her daughter, "Yes I did honey."

"Did you tell him?" She asked.

Jenny stooped down to her daughter's level. "No honey I haven't, but I promise I will tell him in the next couple of months. If I don't tell him by Christmas you have every right to yell at me. Okay?"

"Okay." Helene said quietly. Jenny gave her daughter a hug.

By 8:30, Jenny had put Helene to bed and was working on case files. An hour and half later she was getting to the last five when her phone rang.

"Shepard," she answered.

"I need a partner for the night. You up for it?" An all too familiar voice asked. She sat a little stunned, Jethro was never this direct. "Jen?"

"Jethro, don't know any other women?" She asked.

"Not that I can call for back up. You don't think I meant…"

Jenny cut him off, "That's what you have a whole team of agents for."

"Well McGee is on protection duty with Abby. Dinozzo's tailing Ziva. And since I've lost an…"

She cut him off again, "Dinozzo's doing what?"

"He's tailing Ziva," Gibbs emphasized.

"Well where are you?"

"Outside." Jen walked over to the window and saw waving at her like a schoolboy would when he wanted to sneak his girl out late night. She smiled, changed, left a note right next to Helene's bed, and joined Jethro down at the car. They talked about Ziva. Cairo was all to present in Jenny's mind. When the topic switched over to Marseilles she put her hand over Jethro's mouth. The thought of France, although bringing a smile to her lips, was a constant reminder of Paris and Helene. She did not need reminding that Gibbs did not know about Helene.

Gibbs identified the car, when suddenly a sniper shot a bullet toward her. Jenny immediately ducked. Adrenaline pulsed through both of them as they chased the shooter emptying their rounds into him as tried to run away from them. Jethro returned her home and she went immediately to Helene's room and saw that she had not woken up. She climbed into bed next to her daughter and fell asleep.

The next day Jenny cleared everyone to return home and prepare for Kate's funeral. Gibbs was still slightly disturbed; she could tell, she could always tell.

"Suppose if you're right," she countered as he pushed the elevator button, "What are we going to do about it?"

"We, Jen," he asked, "You're on my side now?"

They stepped into the elevator, "I was always on your side, Jethro."

They formulated a plan to have Ziva cooperate and lead them to Ari. When Jethro turned up at the funeral, she asked, "Ari?"

"Ziva's accompanying his body back to Tel Aviv," he replied.

_"Bastard was right."_ Jenny thought to herself.

Two weeks later, she had settled into Director's life and finally racked up the courage to tell Jethro about Helene when a call came.

"Director Shepard," she answered.

"Eli David," a gruff voice came from the other line.

"What can I do for you, Deputy Director," she asked politely.

"I was wondering if your agency would be interested in having one of our agents as a liaison?"

"Would we get to have one of our own as liaison to Mossad?" Jenny asked sweetly.

She could practically hear Eli sneer on the other line, "I don't see why not."

"Good, who shall I be expecting?"

"Ziva. And us?"

"I'll send you over a file tomorrow morning. I'll have to go over who I will be sending."

"I understand."

"Shalom, Eli," Jenny said.

"Shalom Jenny."

Jenny dialed Cynthia's extension, "Can you get me all the files of agents due for a promotion? Thank you."

She put down the phone and looked at the photo of Helene and herself. "I'm sorry dear you're going to have wait just a little longer."

Two days later, Jenny was sitting in MTAC when she heard Gibbs sit down next to her.

"Something I can help you with Special Agent Gibbs," she asked not looking up from her work.

"Yeah, I got a personal issue. You know anything about that?" He asked quietly.

Jenny looked up, "I take it Ziva arrived a few days early."

Gibbs remained silent, "Right," she continued, "Before we get into this, I'm going to need a refill." She said trying to get up. Gibbs held her arm popped the lid off her cup and poured his coffee into hers, "That was sweet, not necessarily sanitary."

"What is she doing here, Jen?" He asked pointedly.

"If we're going to fight a global war on terror, we need to work closely with our allies," she reasoned.

"Sounds good put her on someone else's team."

"I want her with you Jethro."

"Mossad trained her to spy and kill not to investigate crime scenes. Send her to CIA." He said irritably.

"Just to be clear this is not a request or a debate, Agent Gibbs," she said firmly.

"Anything else you want to change about my team while you're here."

"Look if anything you're lucky to have her. She's one of the finest agents I've ever worked with in Europe," she said softly.

"Why didn't you ask me first, Jen?" He said still peeved.

"And what would you have said?" She countered; he remained silent "Exactly. Number 18: It's better to seek forgiveness then ask permission."

"Oh that's real nice, using the rules I thought you against me. Nice touch."

"I learnt from the best, Jethro. I want Ziva to, as well."

That was the end of that conversation and Ziva fit in nicely into Gibbs's team. Abby was still left to please but after the most recent case with Ziva helping Abby with the reconstruction of the disintegrated box. Jenny was finally beginning to work her courage back up. But her now or never moment came early when a boy by the name of Zac became attached to Gibbs during the investigation of the kidnapping of his father.

"Always admired your way with children. Ever think of having any of your own?"

"Is that an offer Jen?" Gibbs smiled looking away from her.

_"Already happened for it to be an offer Jethro,"_ she thought but said, "No it wasn't an offer, Jethro. It was merely an observation."

"You know why I get along with kids so well? Because when they lie they don't have the guile to get away with it." Jenny listened to him thinking of Helene. "You wanted to see me?" He said breaking her line of thought. She filled him in on what she had learned from the FBI, NSA, and Homeland Security. As, the days progressed she could see the attachment and found herself craving Helene to have that attachment to Jethro.

"Cynthia, tell Agent Gibbs to meet me in my office. If he gets here before I do let him into my office."

"Right away, Director."

Jenny took the elevator down to her car where she kept a box of all the letters she had written to him during the past six years, all the videotapes she made of Helene, anything Helene had ever written to him, of everything of Helene's life.

Upstairs, Gibbs walked up to the Director's office.

"Agent Gibbs, the Director will be with you momentarily," she said opening the door for him and closed it behind him.

Jethro stood there for a minute in the empty room before walking over to her desk. He walked around and saw the pictures on the desk. One was of her father in uniform. The other he found curious enough to pick up. It was of Jenny and a little girl about six years old. They were both in yellow day dresses lying on the grass red hair sprawled out. The girl was smiling and pointing to the sky and Jenny had turned her head to side laughing.

Jenny opened the door of her office to see Jethro behind her desk holding a picture. She didn't need to guess to know which picture he was holding. Jethro had heard her come in since he didn't bother to put down the picture. Instead, he turned the picture around, revealing a picture from Helene's sixth birthday photo shoot they had taken before moving to D.C., and asked quietly, "Jen, who's this?"

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Cliffhanger I know. I'll update soon. Look out for the next chapter coming in December.

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